History of the Breed

The exact history of the Dorset sheep is found wanting for some positive record of origin. History does tell us that centuries ago, Spain wished to conquer England, and possibly during this time, the Merino sheep were brought into Southwest of Wales, which produced a desirable all-purpose sheep which met the needs of that time. Thus began a breed of sheep which spread over Dorset, Somerset, Devon, and most of Wales and were called Horned Dorsets. In this country they are called Dorsets. Today, they are different because of different environments and breeding, though by close observation we still find some characteristics which give us some proof that the Dorset and the Merino carry similar bloodlines and this record of origin is as near correct as any. For centuries, other breeds have sought to encroach upon the pastures of Dorsetshire and Somerset, but never have they been able to gain a permanent foothold. Dorsets there hold sway. They are found on nearly every large farm. They lamb in the sheltered valleys; they summer on hills; they are outdoor sheep, folding on the turnpikes or sown pastures in winter; dropping their magnificent lambs in the open field in early wintertime, suckling them well and developing a desirable lamb for early market in London, where they bring top prices. In the old world, they have indeed Scotland and Ireland, the Isle of Wright, and parts of Kent. They have gone to New Zealand, Argentina, Australia, South America, Central America, and South Africa. In fact, in Australia, they are one of the major mutton breeds.

Dorsets in America

In a publication called Sheep Industry in the United States, written by Ezra Carman, H.A. Heath, and John Minton, all of whom were Oregon pioneers living in the Salem, Oregon area, we learn of Dorsets being in Oregon in 1860. Because of poor and slow communication and traveling methods between East and West in the 1800s, it is understandable that knowledge of these early importations was never received on the East Coast. Because of this lack of transportation across the country, the Hudson Bay Shipping Company of those days began shipping sheep into the Oregon Territory as early as 1800. These shipments were brought to the West Coast from England and the first Dorsets were brought over for Mr. Richard Scott of Milwaukee, Oregon, in 1860. The Oregon breeders evidently had little or no contact with the Eastern breeders until the Horned Dorset Sheep Breeders of America was organized on May 21, 1891. The first contact between East and West appears in the Volume 1 of the First Flock Book, which shows transfer of a ram and four ewes to Richard Scott in Oregon from T.S. Cooper, Coopersburg, Pennsylvania. The first Dorsets to be seen on the East Coast were exhibited at the American Fat Stock Show in Chicago in 1885 by an English firm of E&W Stanford. Then in March of 1887, Mr. William Daley of Lockport, New York imported a few from Canada and in May of that same year, Mr. E.F. Bowditch of Framingham, Massachusetts, made an importation followed closely by Tranquility Farms of Allamuchy, New Jersey. Since that time, many Dorsets have been brought into the country, though there has been a sharp decline in recent years. The past few years have seen a wonderful increase in interest for the Dorset breed. The breed has made a greater gain in the United States in the past 20 years than it did in double any such period in the past. The breed has been tried and proven. In experiments conducted with other breeds, it has proven equal to any others and in many cases superior. Such facts, coupled with the many desirable characteristics which the Dorset maintains over other breeds, makes it a breed that is outstanding in meeting the requirements for lamb production in this country.

Description of the Breed

There was a time, not long ago, (as we count time) when the Dorset ewes were kept for the dairies of Southwest England, hence the breed developed great milking power. Dorset ewes are today the greatest milkers of all species of sheep. They are not sheep used to hard fare and privation; true they were usually without shelter in England, yet they were fed well. The Dorset ewe has a great appetite and a digestion that matches. She will consume a lot of feed; but she will utilize it well. If one desires a sheep that will live on next to nothing, drop a lamb in May, and make it weigh 50 pounds by the next fall, he should select another breed. Dorset ewes are “rustlers” after feed; yet their peculiar ability to give profit comes from their ability to utilize this feed, drop their lambs early, milk well, and produce lambs with a desirable carcass - thus giving their producer a chance for early profits. The Dorset is a medium-sized white sheep by today’s standards, having good body length and muscle conformation to produce the desired carcass for today’s market. The Dorset has a very white, strong, close fleece, free from dark fiber. Horned Dorset ewes and rams both have horns; the ewes are light, curving forward neatly; the rams are heavy, spiraling and curving forward. Polled Dorsets are generally all polled, however, as is explained elsewhere, occasionally scurs of various sizes and types can appear. Dorset ewes weigh from 150 to 200 pounds at maturity, some in show condition may very well exceed this weight. Dorset rams weigh from 225 to 275 pounds at maturity. The body conformation of well-bred Dorsets is hard to excel. They have good body length and muscle conformation. Length of rump and length of loin are of great importance. The rump should be wide and straight over the dock with a full leg showing muscling down toward the hock. Dorset ewes have a sweet feminine character and are among the best mothers found among sheep breeds,far excelling most other breeds in maternal instinct and ability to care for their young. Their lambs grow

with astonishing rapidity. Even though the number of Polled Dorsets in the country far surpasses the number of Horned Dorsets, there is still considerable interest in the historic beauty of the original horned animal. The fact that the horns are a marked characteristic of the breed (both ewes and rams) makes them different from others, but not in the way most people think. They are as easy to handle as any breed and much more so than most. The Horned Dorset does not entangle himself any more than other sheep and they seem to know how to handle their horns - but not in a malicious manner. The old Horned Dorset can be a beautiful animal. Dorset ewes will breed earlier in the season than ewes of other breeds, and will drop their lambs as early as September. They have achieved the fame as the only breed of sheep that will breed anytime of the year. They will raise two sets of lambs a year with multiple births not uncommon, but of course, this practice will call for extra care for the ewes. A common practice among some breeders who want to handle an accelerated breeding program is to plan for three lamb crops in two years. A Dorset flock should be through lambing in February. This early lambing gives great advantage. The lamb grows faster than those born in March or April and they may escape some of the dreaded parasites, since they are ready for market before there is too great of chance for infection. Should it be decided to keep lambs over breeding purposes, they may have a chance to escape some of the parasites, since they are larger and stronger when grass is read in the spring, and are most resistant to infection to infection. In addition to this they may be weaned from their mothers and are ready to go out alone on fresh pasture, where parasite danger is not as great. In spite of these advantages, good parasite control practices are a must.

Polled Dorsets in America

The Polled Dorset originated at North Carolina State College, Raleigh, North Carolina. The new type of Dorset apparently resulted from a mutation which occurred in the purebred Dorset flock maintained by the college. A mutation is an accidental change in the gene or genes that affect a particular trait, such as horns. The offspring in which the mutation occurs has a different genetic makeup than the parents and may differ markedly in the expression of some well-marked characteristics. The inheritance of the polled condition in Dorset sheep is a complex problem and not completely understood. It most certainly came from some influence farther back than we have knowledge of. Cattle are either horned or polled in both sexes and a simple pair of genes determines which the individual is to be. In sheep, we have breeds polled in both sexes, breeds in which only the males are horned, and breeds in which both sexes are horned. Also, horns in Dorset sheep are sex influenced and more than one pair of genes may be involved. Rams with scurs or light horns are most always carrying

horned genes and considered heterozygous. However, scurred rams will sire some polled offspring even when mated to horned ewes. Rams classified as polled will usually, but not always, be pure (homozygous) for the polled condition. Polled ewes may be either heterozygous or homozygous. Thus, at present scurs and light horns in various degree may appear in any breeding program even when polled rams and ewes are mated. The development of a complete polled flock will take several generations. After the first Polled Dorsets were obtained at the College, seven years of research and testing was carried out in order to assure a strong foundation from which a polled strain of Dorsets could be propagated. In 1954, the experimental work was made known to the Continental Dorset Club. In 1956, the Club accepted the first applications for registry, and they were made known to the public. The first sale of animals from the ColPhoto provided by Janicki Horned Dorsets lege flock occurred in 1958. Fifteen rigidly selected rams were sold to Dorset breeders in eleven states. Interest in the new strain of Dorset has been keen and they have been spread from coast to coast. Polled sheep have been exported into Canada and South Africa. They are definitely established as the major part of the Dorset breed. Except for the absence of horns, they are identical with the horned strain in body conformation, fleece, breeding habits, milk production, etc. Those who contemplate starting a polled flock and those now breeding Polled Dorsets should keep the above facts in mind and should not be discouraged when scurs appear in the breeding program. The polled Dorset is increasing rapidly in popularity and each year more and more polled sheep are being registered. Careful breeding to intensify the polled strain will eventually overcome the horned tendency. However, the fact that an animal is polled should not be the only justification for keeping it in the flock. Breeders must not overlook carcass quality, milk production and other economic traits. A high quality scurred ram will give one a better start in Polled Dorsets than a poor quality polled ram.

Using Dorsets in Commercial Operations

The Dorset breed has become known as a “ewe breed” in the commercial side of the sheep business. Dorset blood in the we flock is a real asset in a commercial operation. Not only does the Dorset have the early lambing ability, but also grades and crossbreds have the early lambing ability in large degree. If one wishes early lambs, one should use the Dorset ram, no matter what sort of ewe he may have. The Dorset ram will be apt to get the ewes bred earlier than any other ram would; and the we lambs sired by the Dorset will have the early lambing ability. Crossbred Dorset Merino ewes were developed in the eastern commercial flocks over seventy-five years ago. This cross made an outstanding commercial ewe. In some ways crossbred Dorset ewes are equally as good money-makers as purebred Dorset ewes. They are cheaper, very hardy, and are